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I've got to say that the overwhelming majority of people who are religious are not mentally ill. I really think that's going over the top. I would prefer to engage in intelligent conversation with those who hold religious beliefs than to tell them that they're just crazy.
I've got to say that the overwhelming majority of people who are religious are not mentally ill. I really think that's going over the top. I would prefer to engage in intelligent conversation with those who hold religious beliefs than to tell them that they're just crazy.
I don't think that is what the OP is saying. I think he is inferring that religious people when they have a mental illness in some cases are more dangerous than non religious people who are mentally ill....You know commands from God to kill their kids or such.
For instance my ex wife's cousin chopped up his aunt because he had a command from god.
Religion + mental illness
Why is it such an extremely volatile mix?
not always, but....there are times when the two are co-relative terms. I must admit, that, at times I do get confused because I just don't understand why some folks feel the need for mythology to complete their lives.
Religion + mental illness
Why is it such an extremely volatile mix?
not always, but....there are times when the two are co-relative terms. I must admit, that, at times I do get confused because I just don't understand why some folks feel the need for mythology to complete their lives.
I feel the same way about romantic love as you do about Mythology: Why do people feel they need that loud ofModerator cut: deleted is beyond me.
I do not, however, go to the "relationships" board and flame people who believe in the stupidity of human companionship.
Well I am a religious person who did go mentally ill as in delusional. I was not dangerous to anyone. If anything I was more "non-harming to the point of panic." I became scared even minor thoughts or actions I did were going to hurt people. I wanted to make the world better and my mania made me believe that was possible. Oddly it's in part my religion that helped me realize I was becoming delusional in a religious way. At one point I realized the thoughts I was having were becoming too heretical to be valid according to Catholic teaching. Also that the utopianism inherent in my mania did not fit my notions of original sin or flawed humanity. Also I'd never believed in utopias as I think they tend to lead to totalitarianism. Unfortunately this led my delusion to turn scary as I started thinking I was the next Torquemada or something and then I asked people to take me to someone to get fixed up. (The idea that crazy people don't know they're crazy is a myth. Maybe I didn't know I was crazy every moment of this period, but I think throughout it I knew something was off. Later I knew I was hallucinating and delusional, and that it wasn't normal to be so, but that didn't make it go away. Although to an extent I might agree "crazy people don't care that they're crazy", which was true much of the time. I only cared because it got scary, before then mania was actually kind of fun. Anyway some of this I've never revealed to anyone before)
Although the other reason I realized I was delusional is that I was starting to believe I was sexually attractive, which is so obviously not true that I knew something was wrong. That one I have admitted as it's a common sympton. Mania can heighten sexual desires or thoughts. (I don't seem to be actually bipolar, at least not in the usual sense. My mania seems to have related to a PTSD type situation plus sleep disorders I have)
Anyway I think my experience is relatively typical. I would guess even people who think they're Jesus or Buddha are often harmless except to themselves. Only a certain amount of mental illness turns violent. It's really more often sad and strange than anything. Although to be honest for me some of it was good. I got to work out some things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I get along much better with my Dad now and I think a period of insanity when I screamed at him really helped that. It blew off some steam I probably would have been too intimidated to do otherwise.
I agree that most mental patients are harmless, but the occasional one is dangerous to themselves and others. I'm not really sure if it makes any difference if they are religious or not. One infamous killer got his instructions from his dog.
Mental illness has nothing to do with religion or non-religion. It may happen to anyone with any doctrine: atheism, idolatry and any of various religions.
But we sometimes say words like parables about some bad behaviours of some people, and we say: that person is really mad or lunatic or crazy ...etc.
>> There is a prophetic tradition: "The mad or the mentally-ill in fact is the disbeliever."
People said: "How is that?"
The prophet said: "That is because the "mentally-ill" man is only a diseased or ill person; while the disbeliever sees the truth of God and the afterlife Paradise and Hell, and yet he chooses Hell rather than Paradise."
>> The other point is that Satan has the control over the associater and the idolater and the atheist, and will control his behavior and thinking almost completely: therefore most of "the possessed" you find them of those associating others (like idols, Jesus and imams) with God.
Example: Once, I saw an old woman taking her son to the hospital for the mentally ill patients;
I asked her: "What's the matter with your son? [I saw him a young man: with a large rosary in his hand, and some large green piece of cloth around his neck]"
She said: "He is with the darawish: who do their ceremonies of the zikr"
I said: "Your son is only possessed by Satan and the genies: they had control over the enthusiastic and the associater."
Then I said to the young man: "What's this green band around your neck?"
His mother said: "It is from the shrine of imam Kazim at Baghdad."
I said to him: "Throw away this band: which is some sort of associating Kazim with God; and know as it is in the Quran that God is the Patron who protects people, not Kazim and other righteous people."
The young man threw that band away, and took his rosary to throw it also.
I said to him: "The one to whom you should resort for protection is God alone: not Kazim, Jesus or Moses; because these are only some righteous servants of God: the best one among them is the one showing much servitude and obedience to God, and God is the True Patron."
And I advised him to read daily the soora of protection from Satan (soora #114)and from the evil of others: (soora #113)
Then I told him to leave his friends because they may return him to their confusion.
The man responded and his mother was very glad.
>> Therefore, we have to differentiate between the false religions of polytheism and enthusiasm and association with God on one hand; and on the other hand the religion of God: which is the pure monotheism and devotion to God alone.
>> Another point is that the easiest way of Satan and disbelievers to oppose the apostle is to accuse him with the mental illness; this is in the Quran 51: 52-53
كَذَلِكَ مَا أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا قَالُوا سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
The explanation:
(Even so: not a messenger came to those [peoples] before [your people, O Mohammed], but they said: "A sorcerer, or mad.')
It means: Every nation of the ancient said about their apostle: he is a magician or mad and possessed; so that they might not accept his teachings; becacause people do not trust and do not follow the words of the mentally ill.
Last edited by eanassir; 10-16-2009 at 07:51 PM..
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